Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Slow Down

Yesterday it was time to go to the YMCA. Jack and Jenny were going to swim, and I was going to go into the gym and workout, then do cardio upstairs. First we ran a few laps around the track, then split up so they could go swim and I could workout.My head spins a little when I get in the gym. I wasn't sure what body part I wanted to work, and people were just buzzing around me. Finally I decided to do chest and shoulders, and found an empty machine. I got through my chest and shoulder routine, then did some incline sit ups and went upstairs for cardio.I settled on the recumbent bike where I could monitor my heart rate and pedal a visual course in the French Alps. I began peddling was being a little lazy. I couldn't get my heart rate up , so I started working harder. The course became more of an incline, and I was eventually able to get my heart moving. Then one of the older gentleman I've seen there for many years came over and started talking to the guy on the bike in front of me. This guy looks exactly like Dustin Hoffman, is probably in his late sixties, and I've seen him bench pressing 300 pounds. He starts talking in a private tone I recognize. It's the tone one takes when discussing a major medical issue. He points at his heart and I hear him say "The surgeons say there is nothing they can do." I start peddling harder. I hear him say something about how they are telling him to just rest, and I start peddling harder. Up the French Alps as hard as I can. Finally, I reach my target heart rate, and I can't stop trying to go faster. I don't want to hear what he is saying. I don't want to think about my own heart and how after my surgery I had to learn to walk and ride a bike again. I'm going harder and harder, and my heart rate is surprisingly not going up, which is good. I'm sustaining. Then I feel a hand on my shoulder, and it's Jenny, and she says "Slow down." And my heart rate starts to go down. Quickly. Which is a good sign. I coast down the Alps for a few more minutes, and we go to Subway with Jack and we go outside to the bike path and play Pokemon Go for an hour. It's now midnight of the next day and I have to go down to the basement and finish my day with cardio on the Schwinn Airdyne.Pin It